Jump to: navigation, search

Film Bulletin (04/Mar/1963) - Viewpoints: A Case of Coattail Riding

Details

Links

Article

Viewpoints

A Case of Coattail Riding

Coattail riding, like brain-picking, is a practice of followers, not leaders, of imitators, not creators. There always seems to be someone waiting in the background, ready to jump on a bandwagon, imitate a talent, copy a product, reap part of another's effort or expenditure.

We have in our industry a goodly share of coattail riders and imitators. No sooner does some producer ring the boxoffice bell with a different type of picture than the rush is on to imitate it. Talent can lie undiscovered for years, but let someone reveal it and the copyists, like ferrets, descend to claim it for their own.

The least imaginative and least astute kind of coattail riding, however, is that in which Paramount is presently engaged with its re-issue of a couple old—and not too successful—Alfred Hitchcock productions, apparently in the hope of capitalizing on the vast promotion build-up being accorded his new picture, "The Birds".

Universal, which is releasing, "The Birds", has created an ingenious campaign that is stirring an enormous amount of pre-release word-of-mouth. In addition to the clever catchline, "The Birds Is Coming", Hitchcock, himself, is the focal point of the Universal promotion. Paramount obviously assumed that it would be shrewd business to pick up the crumbs from "The Birds" by hitching its new campaign to the Hitchcock name for the revival of its two oldies.

This is the kind of coattail riding one expects from fly-by-night operators, not from an established, reputable firm.

Retrieved from ‘http://the.hitchcock.zone/w/index.php?title=Film_Bulletin_(04/Mar/1963)_-_Viewpoints:_A_Case_of_Coattail_Riding&oldid=184372’